Small nonprofit funding glossary — Small Nonprofit Grants

509(a)(1)/(2) public charity: IRS classifications for publicly supported charities (as opposed to private foundations). Many corporate programs, like Walmart's, require this status — verified against IRS records.
Automatic revocation: The IRS automatically revokes a nonprofit's tax-exempt status if it fails to file any 990-series return for three consecutive years. It's the most common self-inflicted disqualifier for volunteer-run orgs.
Candid Seal of Transparency: A free badge (Bronze to Platinum) a nonprofit earns by completing its Candid profile. It makes a tiny org's information visible to funders and DAF platforms — often the only place a 990-N filer's numbers appear.
Community foundation: A public charity that manages charitable funds for a specific geographic area and often runs application-based grant rounds for local nonprofits. Your entry point is the one serving your area.
Donor-advised fund (DAF): A charitable account a donor uses to recommend grants to nonprofits over time. You can't apply to a DAF — grants follow the donor's recommendation — but you can cultivate donors who hold them.
Fiscal sponsor: An established 501(c)(3) that extends its tax-exempt status to your project — so you can receive grants and tax-deductible gifts without forming your own nonprofit — usually for a fee (commonly mid-single-digits to about 10% of funds raised).
Form 1023-EZ: The streamlined application to become a 501(c)(3), for eligible small organizations. The user fee is $275 (the full Form 1023 is $600).
Form 990-N (e-Postcard): The short annual IRS filing for the smallest nonprofits (normally under $50K in gross receipts). It's free and takes minutes — and filing it every year keeps your tax-exempt status alive.
General operating support (GOS): Unrestricted grant money you can spend on whatever the organization needs — rent, salaries, keeping the lights on — rather than a specific project. Rare and highly valued, especially for small orgs.
In-kind match / cost-share: Non-cash contributions — volunteer time, donated goods or space — counted toward a project's cost. A 2025 volunteer hour is valued at $36.14; keep documentation to use it.
SAM.gov / UEI: The free federal registration (System for Award Management) and Unique Entity ID required to receive any federal grant or loan. Start it early — it can take time.
Trust-based philanthropy: A movement of funders who give multi-year, unrestricted money and do their own due diligence instead of requiring lengthy proposals. It rewards being findable over being a great proposal-writer.

The nonprofit world runs on acronyms. Here’s the plain-English version of the ones that decide whether you qualify.

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